SEE RELATED ARTICLE, p885.
1
Although physicians usually acknowledge that neurology is the most interesting medical specialty, they also consider it the most difficult, and it is the only medical subspecialty that requires its own residency training program after internship.
2
Both in the inpatient and outpatient setting, the neurologist is totally relied upon to diagnose and treat disorders of the brain and nervous system, because non-neurologists feel uncomfortable managing neurologic disease. It is also the perception of patients that the treatment of their neurologic disease rendered by a neurologist is superior to that of other physicians.3
With the impending shortage of neurologists, in conjunction with the explosion of new therapy and diagnostic techniques for neurologic disorders, a crisis is looming that can only be assuaged by advancing the clinical skills and comfort level of the primary care physician with regard to diseases of the nervous system.4
Medical schools and medical residency programs are placing more emphasis on clinical neuroscience training.5
Over the next 2 years we will be presenting a series of neurologic topics intended to provide the primary care practitioner with a basic understanding of neurologic disorders and a pragmatic approach to their diagnose and treatment. Topics will include Concussion, Understanding and Interpreting the Neurologic Examination, Epilepsy, Dizziness, Autonomic Disorders, Spinal Cord Disease, Headache, Brain Tumors, Stroke, Infections of the Nervous System, Sleep Disorders, Parkinson Disease and Tremor, Peripheral Neuropathy, Myopathy, Motor Neuron Disease, Gait Disorders, Dementia, Multiple Sclerosis, and Neuroimaging.
Our goal is to present a current and comprehensive compilation of important neurology topics that will provide an easy source of reference for the practicing physician and forever vanquish “neurophobia.”
References
- Neurophobia: the fear of neurology among medical students.Arch Neurol. 1994; 51: 328-329
- Primary care perceptions of neurology and neurology services.Postgrad Med J. 2016; 92: 318-321
- Patient perceptions of multiple sclerosis-related care: comparisons by practice.NeuroRehabilitation. 2008; 23: 267-272
- Neurology in the next two decades: report of the workforce task force of the American Academy of Neurology.Neurology. 2011; 76: 923-926
- PORT06 Neurophobia and undergraduate neurology training.J Neurol Neurosurg Psychiatry. 2010; 81: e67
Article info
Publication history
Published online: May 15, 2017
Footnotes
Funding: None.
Conflict of Interest: None.
Authorship: WJM was the sole author of the manuscript.
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Copyright
© 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
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- ConcussionThe American Journal of MedicineVol. 130Issue 8
- PreviewConcussion has been recognized as a clinical entity for more than 1000 years. Throughout the 20th century it was studied extensively in boxers, but it did not pique the interest of the general population because it is the accepted goal of the boxer to inflict such an injury on their opponent. In 2002, however, the possibility that repetitive concussions could result in chronic brain damage and a progressive neurologic disorder was raised by a postmortem evaluation of a retired player in the most popular sports institution in the United States, the National Football League.
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